The Line Running Diary

Hello everybody, and welcome to the historic Palestra for tonight's Line. Neil Fanaroff here, coming at you from the 2009 Line. I'll be posting updates all night, letting you know of the goings on here in case you didn't have the foresight to come to the announcement. It looks to be a fun night for everyone involved.

6:57 pm: Well I've just arrived at the Palestra for my fourth and final Line. A few quick observations from what I've noticed just upon arrival

1) The Red & Blue Crew shirts this year are the EXACT SAME as last year, only in blue. I thought maybe the student leaders of the RBC may have shot a little much-needed creativity into the shirt design process. Too bad.

2) I believe the Palestra has a new sound system, and it sounds great.

A few of the players and some fans are on the court shooting around now, waiting for official line festivities to commence. I'll keep you updated here on the Buzz once things get going.

7:16 pm They have us all sitting in the student section for a pep rally. Nice touch to have us here, where we'll be for the games. A number of players are having a brief shootaround on the court. Jerome Allen's still got it, I just watched him square up with one of the managers and threw the ball off-the-heazy. Hilarious. Then he tried to dunk from a standing position with a bunch of players around. He got up there, but couldn't throw it down. Too bad.

7:44 pm: The pep rally begins, with a Line Leader telling us that this will be “the most fun you will ever have sleeping in a gym in West Philadelphia. "Can't really argue with that"

The new women's coach gets up and speaks. Then Caitlin Slover introduces the team.

The same line leader introduces us to “the incomparable, incorrigible, he gets what he wants when he wants it (he once went into Burger King, ordered a Big Mac, and got one)” Glen Miller. Miller announces a new prize for the burrito-eating contest. 4 of the guys from the team will be playing, and if any team can beat them, they receive 4 tickets to the Davidson and Duke games. Additionally, they will ride to the games on the team bus and participate in the shootaround.

Miller thanks us for our support, and then introduces Justin Reilly and Tyler Bernardini. They introduce the team, with nicknames. Highlights include:

Darren “I think I’ll play basketball again” Smith. To which he replied “I will, I will” Conor Turley is sporting a wonderful mustache. “He looks like Ron Burgundy," says Reilly. Brian “The Big Deuce” Fitzpatrick Australian import Sean Mullan looks like Harry Potter in his glasses. Bernardini puts him on the mike and he says “we don’t really drink Fosters back home." A pretty short freshman class, especially Malcolm Washington. I think I might be taller than him

Now we've got some two-ball (Smith and Rosen are the men's team participants), which will be followed by the suddenly high-stakes burrito eating contest.

8:00: While we wait for the burrito contest, a few players attempt some half-court shots. Bernardini gits his first one, but it's a while before anyone can make another one.

It's burrito-eating time. The men's hoops team representatives enter from the locker room (where they've put on their practice uniforms. Miller helping to officiate. And it's Fitzpatrick, Berndini, Turley, and J. Eggleston anchoring

8:48: In a shocking upset, the men's hoops team is crushed in the burrito eating contest. A horrid start by Fitzpatrick doomed them to third place. A team of mostly freshmen was victorious. They were congratulated by Miller (who never took off his jacket, even when his team was behind nearly 2 burrito-eaters), and they're headed to North Carolina with the team over winter break. I talked to them, and they were pretty psyched about it. Dinnertime for us here at The Line, where Qdoba has provided a bountiful Mexican feast.

On a sidenote, my friends and I were standing off to the side during the burrito eating contest, as we had a better view from the stands. Assistant coach John Gallagher came up, introduced himself, and talked with us for a few minutes. Very nice to see the team is contributing to the spirit of The Line this year. And the ladies are falling all over Mullan. The players just left, but Miller is still here.

9:44: After a nice break where Line participants hung out on the court, playing basketball, knockout, or whatever, we pick up official activities again. I myself worked up quite a sweat throwing a football around (it's really hot in here).

The Line leaders introduce us to Penn Basketball 101, telling us a few things about the reformed Red & Blue Crew and some Penn basketball traditions. They tell us about the perks of being the RBC, as well as some things we do as a crowd. They tell us how to woosh for Penn free throws (demonstrated by Zack Rosen). Also impressed that they instructed us on the Hey Song. They run through player intros (for both teams), rollouts, etc. All in all, a nice presentation albeit a little redundant for those of us upperclassmen (though the crowd here is at least 75% freshmen. And we're set to start the annual dodgeball tournament.

10:53: No updates for a while, because there's not too much going on at the moment unless you're playing dodgeball (which over 50% of the crowd here is, but I'm not) or catching one of the baseball games on someone's computer. Just watching some people dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge. Plenty of excitement in these games, and celebrity appearances by Zack Rosen (who I saw earlier riding around the concourse on an electric scooter) and Mike Howlett, playing for the Swag Team All-Stars. They're into the second round, with the two hoops players starring emotionally and athletically. I'll keep you updated on their progress.

10:58: After his team earns a finals berth, Rosen tries dunking with a dodgeball a few times. Howlett even tries to help him out by hanging on the rim to pull it down. Eventually, aided by a slow clap from some fans, he throws it down. Good persistance by Rosen there. Let's see if the two can bag a dodgeball championship for the Swag Team All-Stars.

11:27: Purple Haze takes the first game after Rosen is eliminated on a controversial (read: incorrect) call by referee Jayson Weingarten. Then, after a lengthy game 2, Purple Haze wins the championship over Rosen and Howlett's Swag Team All-Stars. Time for some Quizzo

12:43 am: Quizzo ends, with my team (The Monstars) losing it down the stretch and coming in 5th place. A valiant effort, but sadly nothing to show for it. Now the RBC leaders are showing a film on the Palestra court (Superbad followed Casino Royale). Miller returned to the Palestra to say hi to the students (he claimed to be going to Smoke's earlier on in the night, but whether he was actually there has not been verified). I may be getting to bed soon, but it was definitely a great night here at the Palestra. Wake up is at 7:45, and I know that I won't get too much sleep tonight. But my last night sleeping on the floor at the Palestra is something I am looking forward to with bittersweet sentiments. It's been an excellent night here at the Palestra.

8:11 am: I've returned home, shirt and tickets in hand. And so ends another Line. We woke up, got our tickets and shirt, and all participants trudged home.

I don't know what to think about The Line, as it's hard to put in words why this tradition is so special to me and the handful of other upperclassmen who have stuck with it despite the team's recent struggles. It doesn't have the unity of Hey Day, the chaos of Spring Fling, or the intoxication levels of either, but for some intangible reason The Line will always have a special place in my heart. Perhaps it's the intimacy, perhaps its the history, or maybe its just the spirit of the building, but I can't really articulate it. This is my first Senior moment, and I wouldn't have it any other way; I've now slept my fourth and final night on the floor of the Palestra concourse, and it's been worth it every time.

Thanks to anyone who followed along or took the time to read this whole thing. And to all of you who passed up the opportunity to participate in The Line this year, don't miss that chance next year. You only get 4 years of college and 4 chances to attend The Line. Don't miss out on this very special tradition.